"The Official Portrait of Miss InDiana"

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Mark Small, one of the attorney's who spoke at the state house revolt, is having a book signing on Thursday evening. He wanted me to extend an invitation to everyone who reads our blog.

"Crime Pays" is a satirical piece of fiction loosely based on the lives of the Cook brothers from 1960's era Indiana who bilked Kokomo residents out of some $28 million over the years they ran their scam.

The event is at the Front Page Tavern which for years is where newspaper men from the Indianapolis Star gather to drink. A small part of the book is set inside the Front Page Tavern.

Here's a short review I wrote :

"Ponzi schemes set in pre-depression 1920's and the 1960's, quickly pulls the reader into the moral void of the Thompson brothers who scam a Midwest town into investing millions in their trusts. Both sociopaths, one brother claws his way to the top of the hick town country club set, while the quiet one indulges an obsession for breeding rats to eat, fight, and kill inside an elaborate Chicago sewer replica he secretly installs in his master bedroom. The reader is given moral reprieve in the wise and loving Mama Jackson and the prostitute Sylvia who wield a class and compassion that far surpasses the self-absorbed bankers, lawyers, and judges who frequent their all night establishment. It all unwinds when the rats are fully unleashed on society and the brothers' schemes fall apart. It's anybody's guess who will ultimately pay for the Thompson brothers' crimes in the riveting 'Crime Pays'."